Hey everyone,

So the biggest two months of my life just finished with a whirlwind trip to Melbourne, where many a startling discovery was made! Here are some questions for you to ponder:

• Why is it that there are so many people in wheelchairs selling things on the streets of Melbourne? Are disabled people being relegated to second-class citizens? The number of disabled beggars truly scared me.
• Why are so many of the shops inaccessible? I’m used to most cafes in Auckland being fully accessible – or at least as far as entry goes. Many Melbourne shops and eateries had at least one step leading inside. Not impressed.
• Why do places in Melbourne use handrails without the ‘grippy’ material? No exaggeration, I used many ‘accessible’ bathrooms over there – from the Airport to the Museum to my hotel room, and every single rail I used was slippery and unsafe, lacking the grooves which make local handrails so easy to use!

Feel free to comment below – I’ll be back with more later